I have a really cool looking Honeycomb radiator for my Peerless radiator shell, and I would like to use it. Someone took the neck off of the radiator, but for the most part the radiator looks pretty good. But, I have heard that old honeycomb radiators are not very good at cooling. Anyone have any thoughts? I will be running a Roof 16 so I will need some good cooling.

Alex -- I have been told by my old-time T mentor that honeycomb radiators cool better than the straight-tube ones. But 100 years later, their cooling efficiency depends a lot upon their condition. You might need to clean out the water passages, which is difficult to do with a honeycomb core. My mentor said he used a toilet cleaner chemical to remove the built-up crud. There are some past threads on the subject. Use the search function to access those threads and that info.

If they are in good condition the cool very well as does any radiator in good condition. Thickness of the core determines its cooling ability. Ford used radiators with cores that varied in thickness. Those for the north did not need to be as efficient as those for the deep south.

All things being equal a Honeycomb radiator should cool much better than a stock T. There is a lot of cooling area in a free flowing Honeycomb. The draw back is that the passages in one are vary narrow and they will quit free flowing if there is any crud in the cooling system. Over the years a Honeycomb is very likely to clog up with various "additives" and just plain rust from the lack of corrosion protection in the water. A stock Ford radiator had fairly big round tubes and as many of us know they will clog up and/or stop cooling when the fins on the tubes quit making good thermal contact. If you find a good Honeycomb that is not clogged up I would run it. DO NOT PUT A HEAVY COAT OF SHINY BLACK PAINT ON YOUR RADIATOR CORE.

Alex, as everyone has said, the honeycomb is I think up to 6 times more efficient than the tube type but the only cleaning you can do is to have it boiled out. My old 24 has an after market rad on it that was there when I got the car. It is a low type, incorrect I know, I extended the cap and soldered on some top mounts, after 5 years it still runs very cool even with out a fan. I have a high radiator to go on it but have never seen the need to replace it. I would flush it out good and try it. Mine has always had a small seep but I just keep the coolant level checked. KB

I have 1 I had hoped to fix for my speedster project.But the tanks have cracks in them.I spent a couple days soldering cracks and then more appeared as it cooled.Before I thru in the rag,It looked bad.I really like the looks of them on a car.

Keith G, Barrier - You are a very brave man indeed Keith! To make a statement on this forum like,....."the honeycomb is I think up to 6 times more efficient than the tube type........". Considering that there are "T" guys on this forum that could (and might) pick that statement apart and discuss it for weeks,......hmmmm!

Do you suppose that a honeycomb radiator might possibly be.....maybe......say......7 or 8 times more efficient with the addition of a water pump? Ha,ha,....just kidding you a bit Keith,........harold